US Commerce Secretary: China seizing TSMC would be 'absolutely devastating' for US economy

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan to seize control of TSMC would be "absolutely devastating" to the US economy.

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Raimondo was asked at a US House hearing about the impact of an invasion of Taiwan by China to control TSMC, where she said "it would be absolutely devastating. Right now, the United States buys 92% of its leading edge chips from TSMC in Taiwan".

It was only back in March of this year that a top US admiral testified that China is building its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen since World War II, preparing to invade Taiwan by 2027. Admiral John Aquilino, the leader of the Indo-Pacific Command, told the US House Armed Services Committee in a prepared testimony on Tuesday that Beijing's defense budget has ballooned by 16% over the last few years to over $223 billion. In the three years since he's taken command, he said that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had added another 400 fighter jets and 20 new major warships to its arsenal. Admiral Aquilino said China has doubled its ballistic and cruise missile inventory since 2020.

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Admiral Aquilino said: "All indications point to the PLA meeting President Xi Jinping's directive to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. The PLA's actions indicate their ability to meet Xi's preferred time-line to unify Taiwan with mainland China by force if directed".